


because i could not stop for death

by unmootivated



Series: Edeleth Short Stories [6]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Chapter 19: Conclusion of the Crossing Roads, Edelgard interferes with Divine Pulse, F/F, Post-Time Skip, silver snow, silver snow AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27169756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unmootivated/pseuds/unmootivated
Summary: “I don’t think so,my teacher.”A sharp voice cut clear through the warped sense of time. Byleth’s eyes snapped back open as a chill washed over her and sunk deep into her bones.“From here on, there are no more second chances.”Alternatively: The confrontation at the Imperial palace doesn’t go as planned. (But maybe that’s okay.)
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Edeleth Short Stories [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839928
Comments: 14
Kudos: 117





	because i could not stop for death

Death had made its home in the Imperial palace. The copper stench of blood clung heavy to the air as soldiers fell left and right, and despair welled deep within the pit of Byleth’s stomach as she dragged her eyes across the fallen bodies. She flicked her wrist back as she retracted the Sword of the Creator, the blade glowing with a deadly reddish-orange hue.

_It wasn’t supposed to be like this._

From the start, the siege of Enbarr had been brutal. Early on in the battle, the troops led by Byleth and the Black Eagles had been ambushed by an unprecedented force of Imperial soldiers, personally commanded by Hubert. Within mere moments, half of the Black Eagles had been forced to retreat.

Left with no other choice, Byleth had then cut down the all-too-canny Minister of the Imperial Household. And even now, Hubert’s final accusatory words still rang hauntingly in her ears.

_“I should have disposed of you a long time ago.”_

Maybe if she had just... 

Byleth shook her head. There was no time to dawdle on past regrets.

She took a step forward and lifted her head up. She looked up at the grandiose set of stairs before her.

And as her eyes trailed up the steps of the stairs, following the magnificent red carpeting of the floor, Byleth could not help but wonder when the story had all gone wrong. 

_Oh, Edelgard..._

She distantly recalled the last time she had stood here, at the center of the Imperial palace’s throne room. It almost felt like yesterday when she had first come to accompany Edelgard to her coronation ceremony.

...And oh, how proud Byleth had been then, watching her student rise to fulfill her destiny. 

_Why didn’t you just tell me the truth back then?_

At last, her eyes landed on the very instigator of this conflict. The one whose death would lead to the end of this years-long war.

Edelgard von Hresvelg.

Standing before her throne in all her Imperial glory, the young Adrestian emperor looked resplendent in gold. A magnificent gold-plated armor with a matching horned crown sitting atop her head. Golden shoulderplates adorned with black feathers. A glorious, golden-trimmed crimson cape draped across her back. 

In one hand, she wielded the legendary axe Aymr. And in the other, she bore a large shield bearing a twin-headed eagle - the emblem of the Adrestian Empire. 

With careful, calculated steps, the young monarch stepped toward the edge of the staircase. The feathers on her shoulders quivered, and Byleth was reminded once more of how Edelgard had once been the very queen of the Black Eagles before her secrets were revealed and the world fell into chaos.

_You could have trusted me with the truth._

_...You_ **_should_ ** _have trusted me with the truth..._

Edelgard tilted her head down, her horned crown glinting in the light from the windows behind her. She gazed steadily down at her former teacher, locking eyes with Byleth’s. 

The emperor’s violet eyes were cold and unyielding.

Byleth’s grip instinctively tightened around the bony hilt of her sword.

“Professor.” The emperor’s voice was calm and commanding as she addressed the de facto Church leader. “I suppose you think you can defeat me. Is that right?” And although there was a hint of a smirk on Edelgard’s countenance, Byleth detected an underlying wave of bitterness in her former student’s tone.

Perhaps in another timeline, the two of them could have walked together along the same path, as liberators and heroes of a new dawn. 

Perhaps... they could have carried the weight of the world and shouldered the burdens of Fódlan, side-by-side, as partners and equals.

Byleth pushed the thought away. There was no point in dwelling on potential what-ifs and never-could-bes now. She signaled for the remaining Black Eagles to gather into formation behind her. 

Her unbeating heart twisted painfully when she looked back up at Edelgard. But it was time to end this once and for all.

_Edelgard. I’m sorry._

Byleth turned her head to the side and gave a nod to Ferdinand. After a quick nod back, the former Adrestian nobleman yanked on the reins of his horse and galloped forward, a spear held loftily in his right hand. “This war is far from noble, Edelgard! Think of the shame it has brought the Adrestian Empire!” he shouted as he lobbed the short spear upwards at the Adrestian emperor.

Edelgard’s evaluating eyes shifted away from Byleth’s as she lifted her shield to easily deflect the spear. “This has nothing to do with where you were born. That we are fighting now is only a result of the choices you've made.” Her eyes narrowed as her gaze hardened. “So I'm going to give that the response it deserves. I will crush you with everything I have!”

The next few moments happened all too quickly. 

Like a raging storm that could not be contained, the emperor of Adrestia leapt from her place at the top of the stairs and crashed her axe down on Ferdinand. Byleth watched in horror as the cavalier let out a cry out pain as his loyal steed fell over, only to be swiftly silenced by another strike from the emperor.

“Ferdie, _no!_ ”

Blue lightning shot out from behind Byleth as Dorothea blasted a Thoron in Edelgard’s direction. Without missing a step, Edelgard deftly dodged to the right before raising her shield to block a downward sword strike from Petra.

The sword embedded itself into the shield, and with a fierce pull upwards, Edelgard promptly knocked Petra down, before executing her with Aymr.

In a blink of an eye, Edelgard then cleaved Dorothea in half.

The cries of the Black Eagles as they were felled by their former house leader seared into Byleth’s mind as she watched the scene play out before her within a span of seconds. 

The plan had not worked at all. 

Even so, Edelgard killed with a beauty that both awed and terrified Byleth.

...But now wasn’t the time to think about that.

Taking a deep breath, Byleth closed her eyes and called upon a power far beyond this world to undo her egregious mistake.

_Divine Pulse._

Time froze, and the walls of the Imperial palace fell away as Byleth entered a distorted sense of reality. 

She grappled for the threads of time. In a moment, the Black Eagles would be back on their feet, and this time, they would defeat Edelgard.

Byleth pulled.

But time did not flow backwards.

She frowned. Tugged again. Tugged _harder_. But time once more refused to budge. 

“I don’t think so, _my teacher_.”

A sharp voice cut clear through the warped sense of time. Byleth’s eyes snapped back open as a chill washed over her and sunk deep into her bones.

“From here on, there are no more second chances.”

Byleth’s hold on time shattered, her control of Divine Pulse lost. She had barely a fraction of a second to dodge as a short axe hurtled through the air toward her. And another fraction of a second to prepare herself before Edelgard was upon her. 

Byleth raised her sword as Edelgard brought her axe down, their weapons colliding in a shower of sparks. She grunted in exertion, throwing Edelgard off of her.

Panic welled up within Byleth. Now _this_ was definitely not what was supposed to have happened.

How long had Edelgard known about Byleth’s power over time?

The two began to trade blows back and forth. And as Byleth parried another attack from the emperor, the former mercenary rapidly thought back to all the times she had previously used Divine Pulse in Edelgard’s presence before the war. 

She thought back to all the strange looks Edelgard had given her back at the Academy and on the battlefield, ever since the day Byleth had first rescued the Adrestian princess along the outskirts of Remire Village.

...And now Byleth was being forced to put down the very same girl she had once saved back then. 

Fate truly was cruel and ironic.

Up close, Byleth could see the hard lines set in Edelgard’s face, telling of the fiery determination that burned in her heart. An orange glow illuminated their surroundings as the Crest of Flames simultaneously activated from the two of them, their relic weapons blazing with infernal energy. Red sparks flew through the air as the Sword of the Creator collided with Aymr once more.

“Even if my arms and legs failed me,” Edelgard growled as the two twirled around each other in a dance of death. “I would still find a way to move forward.”

The fight was almost reminiscent of their reunion back at the Goddess Tower. But this time, Edelgard was not offering for Byleth to rejoin her side. 

“ _Goodbye, my teacher. When next we meet, one of us will breathe their last._ ”

Edelgard’s last words from that dreaded night rang clear in the back of Byleth’s mind. And fool that she was, Byleth had stood in silence, watching on as the last tatters of Edelgard's hopes withered and died away.

She so desperately wished she could go back in time to that very moment and reach out to Edelgard one last time.

But...

To the side, Byleth could still see the bodies of the fallen Black Eagles. Felled by Edelgard.

The damage had been done.

_I have to end this_.

Byleth feinted an attack to the right, and upon seeing Edelgard shift to defend accordingly, struck left with the Sword of the Creator instead. Red energy hummed off the sword as the whip-like blade extended at her will and curled around the jaw-shaped curve of Aymr. 

With a hard pull, Byleth wrenched the legendary relic axe from Edelgard’s iron grip, tossing Aymr several feet away.

Undeterred, Edelgard smoothly unsheathed a long, flame-bladed sword from her hip. 

“Clever move, Professor. But I’m not quite done yet.”

Byleth eyed the weapon warily. The Sword of Seiros. Now they truly were replaying their fight back at the Goddess Tower.

Byleth’s heart clenched at the thought.

The Adrestian emperor charged forward, slashing her sword through the air like lightning. Byleth tried to feint to the right once more, but this time, Edelgard was ready. 

With a shout, Edelgard slammed her shield into her former teacher’s side, throwing Byleth off-balance. Pain shot up Byleth’s arm as she sloppily blocked Edelgard’s subsequent sword strike.

“Did you forget, my teacher?” Edelgard grunted as the two pushed their swords against one another. “I learn quickly.”

Byleth couldn't help but to let a small smile slip onto her face at that, but the smile fell away just as quickly as it had come. Edelgard had always been her best student, hadn’t she?

_For her sake. And for the Black Eagles’ sakes._

With a yell, Byleth channeled the energy from her Crest of Flames into her sword and swung upwards - one last time. Edelgard let out an angry cry of pain as the force of the upward strike threw her sword arm back and the Sword of the Creator slashed across her forehead, fracturing her golden crown. With no hesitation, Byleth then struck out at Edelgard’s other arm, forcing the young emperor to drop her hefty shield. 

A gasp of pain escaped Edelgard as she staggered backwards and fell onto one knee at the foot of the staircase, the Sword of Seiros piercing the ground as Edelgard leaned on it for support. 

The Emperor of Flames panted heavily as she looked back up at Byleth with a resigned expression on her face. Blood trickled down one side of her face, and a sad smile teased the corners of her lips.

For a moment, a different scene played out before Byleth - a scene that had happened more than five years prior. In that distant past, the Flame Emperor had instead kneeled before her, brought to her knees by her very own professor. Blood had soaked and dyed the snow white hair as a younger Edelgard had looked up at Byleth with a similarly sorrowful and accepting look on her face.

“ _Thank you for all that you did for me._ ”

“It looks as though... my path... will end here.”

The sound of Edelgard’s strained voice dragged Byleth back to the present. She watched as the fallen emperor reached for Aymr. For a brief moment, Byleth worried she hadn’t thrown the legendary weapon far enough away earlier, but then...

Edelgard let go of the axe, her voice soft and quiet. “My teacher... claim your victory.”

The sound of a heartbeat pounded in Byleth’s ears, and the rest of Edelgard’s words drowned out as the reality of the moment - of Edelgard’s impending death - finally settled in upon Byleth.

_Wait… a heartbeat?_

…Why was she hearing a heartbeat?

Byleth clutched at her chest where her unbeating heart lay as her eyes flew back to the Adrestian emperor before her, distantly recalling the only two other times she had heard the sound of a heartbeat pound so very loudly in her ears. 

_This must have something to do with her._

_But…_

_No._

Knelt before her now was not the mighty Adrestian emperor, feared far and wide in hushed tones across all of Fódlan. Before her now was simply Edelgard, a young girl full of dreams and ambitions for a better future. Studious, punctual, and _kind_ Edelgard, who had always gone out of her way to help her fellow Black Eagles and to help Byleth whenever she could. 

Edelgard, who had then killed so many people, including her cherished Black Eagle peers, while allied for some unfathomable reason with the same monsters who had traumatized her so by cutting open her very flesh-

_No_ , Byleth thought, closing her eyes to steady herself from the inner turmoil brewing in her mind. _There must have been a reason._

She opened her eyes again to reevaluate her last train of thought, rewording it.

Edelgard, who had cared so much about this world that she had been willing to throw away even her own life so that she might change it. 

Byleth turned her attention back to Edelgard as her former student increasingly struggled with each word that passed her lips. 

“If I must fall...” 

_I’m so sorry, Edelgard._

“...let it be by your hand.”

Byleth frowned, refusing to let tears gather in her eyes as she slowly approached the young girl before her. She would honor Edelgard’s last request.

“I wanted…”

She raised the Sword of the Creator high above her head.

“...to walk with you...”

And let it fall.

And without a sound, the Adrestian emperor fell. 

Blood as red as the emperor’s cape pooled by Byleth’s feet. No longer able to hold back her tears, Byleth dropped her sword and brought her hands up to stifle a cry as she collapsed onto her knees, a sob escaping out of her.

Within a day, she had lost nearly everyone she cared for. Grief flooded through her entire being, threatening to consume her.

And perhaps it was this overwhelming grief, or perhaps it was the horrors of the day finally taking its toll on her...

But what she did next was truly impulsive.

With a deep, watery breath, Byleth closed her eyes.

And the world froze around her.

Desperately, she grasped for the delicate tendrils of time, coiling them tightly around her fingers.

And with all the strength she had left to muster…

Byleth _pulled._

~❆~

This time, Byleth was determined to save everyone she cared for.

The Black Eagles.

...Edelgard.

And so, as she strode alongside Seteth, leading their troops toward the Adrestian capital once more this fateful day, Byleth informed him of a new plan for the Resistance Army to take over Enbarr.

“Are you insane, Professor? Give me one good reason why we should change our battle plan _now_.”

Byleth racked her brain for a suitable answer. She couldn’t fail to change today’s fate. Not yet.

At last, she decided upon a reply.

_Sothis, forgive me._

“It is the goddess’ will.”

~❆~

Questions plagued the Resistance Army commander’s mind as the gates of Enbarr finally came into view.

Did Edelgard remember all that had already technically transpired this very day?

Or had the emperor’s death wiped her of all such memory?

And if she did remember, would Edelgard change her defensive strategies and tactics accordingly?

The endless barrage of questions bothered Byleth. She shook her head to dispel the errant thoughts. There was only one way forward now. This time, she would confront her wayward Black Eagle on her own.

With a wave of her hand, Byleth rallied the Black Eagles to her sides and sent away the Knights of Seiros to various different vantage points surrounding the Adrestian capital. Then, with another wave of her hand, she commenced their assault.

The city fell within minutes. Edelgard had not changed her battle plans at all. Hubert was once more slain by Byleth’s hand. Perhaps Edelgard didn’t remember the day after all.

Perhaps it was better this way.

“Stay out of the throne room,” she ordered, sword in hand as she marched into the Imperial palace, with nary a glance at the confused Black Eagles.

Only she alone would face Edelgard.

As expected, hordes of Imperial soldiers awaited the army commander within the throne room. The Sword of the Creator sung a song of ruination as it slew all who dared threaten its wielder.

Soaked in blood and mechanical in her movements, Byleth was the Ashen Demon once more.

And like the Ashen Demon she had once been known as, Byleth had sent all her foes to hell.

“...Why?”

Byleth looked up the grand staircase to the source of the shaky, despairing voice.

Edelgard hadn’t moved a single inch since her former teacher had entered the palace room and laid carnage to her soldiers. And Byleth felt a wave of anguish upon realizing that Edelgard _had_ indeed remembered the day’s earlier events.

She needed to incapacitate Edelgard, and _quickly._

Charging a ball of fire in her free hand, Byleth ran to the foot of the stairs. But before she could hurl it at the Adrestian emperor-

“For the Empire!” Edelgard cried out as she flew off the stairs, Aymr held up high above her head.

Byleth’s eyes widened as she jumped backwards, her sword barely brought back up in time to block Edelgard’s axe.

“Edelgard, wait! Stop! I don’t want to kill you!”

Edelgard’s lips drew back as she bore her teeth in a ferocious snarl. “And you expect me to believe that?”

Her violet eyes burned with righteous fury. Byleth wanted nothing more than to erase the look from Edelgard’s face.

She glanced at the weapons in their hands, pushing futilely against one another. Her mind whirled in circles as she assessed the lock they were in.

_What’s my strategy?_

“What the _hell.”_

Without thinking, Byleth had let one hand go from her sword to Edelgard’s wrist, clutching it in a vice-like grip.

_Oh, oops._

She met Edelgard’s eyes. A bewildered expression now resided upon the emperor’s countenance.

“I am... so sorry for this, Edelgard.”

_Time to improvise._

Byleth slammed into Edelgard, sending the heavily armored emperor crashing into the ground. Having lost her footing while doing so, the former mercenary then haplessly tumbled after Edelgard, pinning the younger woman beneath her entire body weight.

Edelgard’s axe and shield clattered loudly onto the stone floor beside them. And for a while after, nothing else was heard but the sound of the two women’s laborious breathing as they panted heavily atop one another.

“Unbelievable.” Edelgard’s exasperated voice sounded exhausted by Byleth’s ear.

Byleth pushed herself up and repositioned her hands to instead pin Edelgard down by her arms.

“Sorry.”

“You are most assuredly _not_ sorry.”

A strand of Byleth’s mint-colored hair fell onto Edelgard’s cheek as the two locked eyes again, wide turquoise eyes staring into narrowed violet ones.

“Why are you trying to keep me alive?”

Byleth bit her tongue, unwilling to answer the question.

_Because I care about you..._

“You can’t change fate, if that’s what you’re trying to do,” Edelgard growled through gritted teeth when Byleth failed to respond. “I’ve tried!”

Edelgard surged upward, smashing her head into Byleth’s. Byleth reeled back in pain and alarm as the golden crown made contact with her head. And before the older woman could fully register what was happening, Edelgard reversed the two’s position, drawing her sword as she did so. 

The emperor roughly shoved Byleth onto her back and held her down, pressing the wavy blade of her sword against Byleth’s exposed neck.

“If you’re so sure that you can’t change fate,” Byleth gasped out from beneath the pressure of the metal held against her throat. “Then why did you stop me from reversing time before?”

“That’s my point!” Edelgard spat out vehemently. “I tried to change fate before, and yet still I lost!”

“But-”

“You are the goddess,” Edelgard said sharply, interrupting the other woman still pinned beneath her. There was a wild, desperate look in the emperor’s eyes. “And the goddess hates me.” Her breaths were warm and heavy, tickling at Byleth’s cheek. “We were always meant to be enemies. One of us has to die.”

“Are you going to kill me, then?” Byleth sighed, feeling her body relax as she resigned herself to Edelgard’s mercy.

Perhaps it was better this way.

Uncertainty briefly flashed across Edelgard’s face - so quickly that Byleth thought that she must have imagined it - before resolve settled into the emperor’s features. “If I must.”

Another beat of silence passed.

Byleth’s brows furrowed as she gazed up at the woman above her. _Well, what is she waiting for then?_

“ _Argh!_ ”

The weight on Byleth lifted as a well-aimed Thoron spell hit Edelgard’s shoulder, forcing the emperor to fall away from the professor. Byleth rolled back onto her feet in shock at the sudden turn of events.

Against Byleth’s orders and out of concern for their professor, the Black Eagles had charged into the palace room. Now, the Black Eagles had the Adrestian emperor surrounded and at _their_ mercy.

Sitting on her knees and clutching at her injured shoulder, Edelgard wore a resigned look on her face - a look that Byleth had not wanted to see so soon again.

_No..._

Byleth’s thoughts wandered as she swept her gaze across the room. Once, the Black Eagles had been Edelgard’s closest friends back at the Academy. And now… 

“You can’t take me alive. I won’t be your prisoner,” Edelgard proclaimed, her voice still powerful despite her pitiful state. 

Byleth could sense the ripple of unease that rolled over the Black Eagles at their former house leader’s defiant statement. 

“I _won’t_ go back to the dungeons.”

“What do you mean by that, Edie?” Dorothea asked nervously, her melodic voice quivering despite its projected calmness.

For a moment, Edelgard remained silent, instead choosing to train dull violet eyes at the floor before her. Then, the emperor looked up, locking eyes with Byleth once more.

And just like before, the next few moments happened all too quickly.

Edelgard reached behind her back and pulled out a dagger. And with violet eyes never once leaving Byleth’s own mint green ones, she threw it.

The alarmed cries of the Black Eagles filled the air as they released their pointed tips and charged spells.

_No!_

Byleth had barely a second to freeze time before the Black Eagles’ attacks could land on Edelgard, her hand reaching out toward the fallen emperor. And as expected, Byleth was once again not able to budge time backwards.

Before her, Edelgard smiled wryly. Her own hand was outstretched toward Byleth, an aftermath to the throwing of her dagger. 

“My teacher,” Edelgard began, her voice too tranquil given the situation. “I cannot allow you to change fate.”

For a moment, the two stared at each other in quiet determination, neither willing to relinquish their hold on time. 

“If this is fate,” Byleth whispered. “Then fate can go fuck itself.”

Looking to her side, Byleth could see Edelgard’s thrown dagger frozen midair, nowhere even near Byleth’s head. She looked back at Edelgard, then at the various weapons and spells mere inches away from hitting the Adrestian emperor.

Despair welled deep within Byleth at the realization of what Edelgard had been trying to do.

The emperor’s gaze softened as a bittersweet smile crossed her face. “Whatever happens, I hope you know that you have always been… very special to me.” And the words sounded all too familiar to Byleth’s ears, bringing her back to a time in so many years past.

_“You are something special, my teacher.”_

A better time, a more peaceful time. A time when Byleth and Edelgard still stood side-by-side, watching their world move serenely by them. 

But that wasn’t the truth, was it?

Edelgard’s world had never been quite like hers. Never as deceptively peaceful.

“That you cared so much to turn back time for my sake means a great deal to me...”

_“I may be heir to the Imperial throne....”_

“...And I will always be grateful for all that you’ve done for me.”

_“...but first and foremost, I'm your grateful student.”_

“But please… let go, Byleth.” 

The use of Byleth’s name caught her off-guard, making her lose her hold on her Divine Pulse. A cacophony of cries filled the air once more as time resumed and the strikes of the Black Eagle struck their former house leader.

And with nary a sound, just like before, Edelgard fell.

_“That will never change, even when I fulfill my destiny and become the emperor.”_

Byleth shut her eyes to avoid the sight of Edelgard’s fallen body. And as an all-too-loud and unnatural heartbeat began to pound in her ears again, Byleth reached for the hands of time once more.

~❆~

The grand steps of the Imperial palace’s stairs loomed over Byleth as the commander of the Resistance Army once again found herself at the center of the throne room, looking up at the unscathed emperor of the Adrestian Empire.

Byleth distantly wondered how many more times she would find herself in this very same position of this awfully dreadful day.

“Are you _serious_ , Professor?!” Even from a distance, the immense hurt and anguish in Edelgard’s voice was palpable. 

In fact… for the first time since Byleth had met her, the emperor of Adrestia sounded nearly hysterical.

Byleth couldn’t fault her for the feeling.

For a while, the two stood in silence, watching each other. _What is she waiting for?_

With a steadying breath, Byleth began to gradually ascend the stairs. She lowered her arms, lowering her sword as she did so. “Edelgard, stop fighting me,” she called out.

Byleth stepped over the top step, Edelgard’s eyes never once leaving her form. Watching Edelgard carefully, Byleth stepped closer until the two were face-to-face with each other. 

At the top of the stairs so high above the ground, the rest of the world fell away. For a while, the only sounds the two could hear were the sounds of their breaths and the water flowing beneath the stairs.

“Must you torture me so?” Edelgard whispered. Hurt was written all over her face.

Byleth opened her mouth to respond. 

_How_ I _have tortured_ you _?_

_How about how_ you _have tortured_ me _? With your constant insistence on dying-_

“Run away,” Byleth breathed out instead, her unbeating heart aching as the words left her. “Run away from here while you still can. This room doesn’t have to be your grave.”

Edelgard froze, her eyes widening in disbelief. “You’re delusional, Professor.” She took a step forward as her eyes narrowed into slits and her lips curled back into a contemptuous snarl. “Run away _where_? There’s nowhere left to run!” She raised Aymr and struck out at her former teacher.

The sound of their clashing weapons reverberated off the palace walls and echoed through the great expanse of the throne room. With a yell, Edelgard drew back her axe and struck out again, immediately and unhesitatingly. Then again. And again, and again, and again.

But Byleth would not lash back out at Edelgard.

“Please stop, Edelgard!” Byleth pleaded as she blocked back another blow from the emperor’s mighty axe.

“Do you have a death wish, Professor?!” Edelgard snapped angrily. Her attacks began to grow in intensity and ferocity.

Byleth frowned. She had to quit stalling. At any moment now, the Black Eagles would be bursting in through the palace doors to “rescue” her.

And so, when Edelgard next struck out again, Byleth took a sidestep. Then flicked her wrist to extend the whip-like blade of her relic sword in the emperor’s direction.

Extending at the will of its wielder, the jagged bones of the sword dug deep into the emperor’s golden gauntlet, locking the arm wielding Aymr firmly in place. With a small tug, Byleth then pulled Edelgard close to her as she smashed an elbow down onto Edelgard’s other arm, forcing the Adrestian emperor to let go of her shield with a cry of pain. 

The shield fell with a soft thud onto the carpeted floor beside them.

“Enough, Edelgard!” Byleth rasped out as she quickly wrapped her arm back around Edelgard’s other arm before the smaller woman could retaliate.

The jawlike curve of Aymr snapped dangerously close to Byleth’s head, the heat exuding from the legendary axe raising the hairs on the nape of her neck.

Edelgard’s eyes darted frantically around as she looked for a way to escape. She tugged fruitlessly at her bonds, unable to break free from Byleth’s unyielding grasp. 

A hint of resignation and defeat filtered into her lilac eyes when she at last looked back up to meet Byleth’s steady green gaze. 

And as their eyes met for the umpteemth time that day, time seemed to stand still.

Byleth had to ask.

The question that had been burning in her mind since Edelgard’s first death.

“Do you love me, Edelgard?”

Edelgard started at the unexpected question, her head lifting and nearly knocking into Byleth’s chin. “Is this a trick question?”

“That’s not a ‘no’...”

For a while, Edelgard didn’t respond. Then, she closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. “What does it matter now?”

It might as well have been a confession.

“Why didn’t you just tell me the truth-”

“ _What_ does it matter now?” Edelgard repeated, more forcefully than before.

It didn’t, Byleth realized. It really didn’t. Even if she had known the truth back then, Byleth doubted whether she would have been able to get Edelgard to stray from the path that the younger woman had so resolutely chosen to walk down.

But maybe she had never been meant to get Edelgard to stray from her chosen path.

Perhaps maybe Byleth and the other Black Eagles had instead been meant to walk down Edelgard’s chosen path, alongside Edelgard herself.

...And given what Byleth now knew about the Church of Seiros, would Edelgard’s path have really been all that bad?

After all, what _Byleth_ really wanted in the depths of her unmoving heart was to protect all she held dear. All the people she cared for.

All the people she _loved_.

And while she harbored no love for the members of the Church of Seiros...

Byleth stared at the Adrestian emperor, still trapped close against her.

What were Byleth’s true feelings for the Adrestian emperor?

_No._

_Not the emperor, but…_

_Edelgard_.

Edelgard, who apparently held such deep feelings of affection for her former professor. Edelgard, who had twice now given deathbed confessions of her innermost tender thoughts.

What were Byleth’s true feelings for _Edelgard_?

"Can I kiss you?" Byleth blurted out, her face flushing with heat as the words left her lips.

“...Is _this_ a trick question?”

Byleth sighed, giving a small smile as she slowly shook her head.

"You're ridiculous." A beat of silence passed as Edelgard tilted her chin upward, replying haughtily, "I don't know, Professor. Can you?"

Byleth hesitated. What would it mean for them if they kissed? Despite what Edelgard had said earlier, Byleth wasn’t completely delusional. Or, rather, she hoped she wasn’t. A kiss wasn’t going to fix their strained relationship. Or any of their other interpersonal problems.

The war wasn’t going to magically end and Fódlan wasn’t going to be at peace just because the leaders of the two opposing armies of said war had kissed.

Byleth doubted whether kissing the Church’s number one enemy was even a good idea to begin with.

Edelgard gave a small huff of impatience. Looking down, Byleth could see that the younger woman was now also blushing, her face as crimson as the cape she wore over her shoulders.

"My teacher-" she started.

All reason and logic went out the window.

Byleth dipped her head down and captured Edelgard’s lips in a soft kiss, silencing the younger woman. Her eyes slid shut as she tightened her grip and tugged the other woman gently closer, who let out a quiet noise of surprise in response. 

For a while, Byleth knew nothing but the feel of Edelgard’s lips upon her own, moving in slow reciprocation. Nothing but the taste of blood and sweat and was that… a hint of bergamot?

Then, reality set in.

There was a sound of pounding at the palace doors. At any moment now, the Black Eagles would be breaking their way in to “save” their professor.

Byleth broke off their kiss, her eyes snapping open to find Edelgard’s own eyes gazing headily back up at her.

"Edelgard-"

Edelgard surged forward to peck another gentle kiss on Byleth's lips, silencing her former teacher just as Byleth had done to Edelgard before. She pulled away, her lips a hair's breadth away from Byleth's own lips. 

"I know what you’re about to do," she murmured. “I’ll stop you again if I must.” A tone of defeat laced her voice - one that Byleth decided she had heard one too many times before by now.

And something new - _disappointment_.

Desperation clawed up Byleth’s chest. She couldn’t do this. Not again. Couldn't lose Edelgard again. Her eyes went unfocused as she craned her head to the side to stare blankly at an indiscriminate spot in the distance, no longer able to look at Edelgard herself.

"I know this didn't actually mean anything."

_No._

"But thank you, my teacher."

_No, you're wrong, Edelgard._

"For everything."

_This was everything._

Byleth's heart broke.

_Was this truly how it would end?_

No.

Byleth grabbed the broken pieces of her shattered heart and forced them back together. Steeled her heart as she leaned into Edelgard's ear to whisper tender promises of a new beginning.

She felt Edelgard shift against her in surprise as she took in Byleth's words.

_No, Edelgard._

_It's not over for us just yet._

This would not be how their story would end.

The palace doors flew open behind them and the sound of the Black Eagles filled the air as they filed into the room. 

There was no time left.

Byleth reached for the fragile strands of time. This time, Edelgard did not stop her.

And this time, Byleth felt a tinge of hope.

~❆~

Byleth stood before the great doors of the Imperial palace once more. With no hesitation, the commander of the Resistance Army stormed into the throne room, and with long, powerful slashes of her relic sword, slew every unfortunate Imperial soldier inside. 

When the last soldier finally fell, Byleth looked up to the throne at the peak of the stairs. 

Relief washed over her like a cool wave, calming her adrenaline-heated body. 

This time, Edelgard was not there.

Byleth climbed the stairs in hurried steps. 

As requested, Edelgard had left behind her Imperial armament. The golden regalia of the Adrestian emperor sat atop the grand ceremonial chair at the top of the stairs, with Edelgard’s shield and legendary axe leaning on opposite sides of the throne. 

Draped over the back of the chair was Edelgard’s majestic crimson cape, and hanging on an ear of the chair was her golden horned crown.

In a way, it looked almost as though the Adrestian emperor herself were still sitting there. A ghost come back to haunt her former teacher, now Church army commander. 

A bitter laugh nearly bubbled up Byleth’s throat at the sight.

But there was no time for silly amusements. Not now.

Hastily, Byleth shed her cloak off, dumping the golden-threaded garb unceremoniously onto the floor, before moving to strip herself of every other Church-gifted piece that she wore. The pieces fell clunkily into a disorderly pile before her, nothing at all like the neat setup that Edelgard had arranged upon the Imperial throne. 

And once Byleth’s smallclothes were all that remained, she unsheathed the Sword of the Creator. Then paused momentarily. Turned the relic weapon over in her hand and admired the bony blade. 

She would miss this sword.

Sort of.

Not more than she would miss Edelgard if she kept dilly-dallying here.

She tossed the sword to join the pile by her feet, then took a few steps back. 

And in the next moment, incinerated the items before her. 

Smoke wisped into the air and around Byleth as the title of Adrestian emperor burned away, and with it, her own title of Church army commander. 

It was almost gratuitously satisfying.

To the rest of Fódlan, this scene would be known as the moment the emperor of Adrestia had at last been defeated, and with her demise, the end of the Adrestian Empire. And in a brilliant, final sacrificial battle to take down this ruthless tyrant with a heart of ice, the valiant de facto leader of the Church of Seiros, too, had perished. 

Byleth would be hailed a hero in history, and Edelgard forever immortalized as the villain.

Byleth lowered her hands as she ceased her spells of fire, staring at the now charred and ashen pile by her feet. 

The relic weapons had remained unscathed. And there were still enough recognizable bits and pieces to imply that Edelgard and Byleth had both been here. 

This would have to be enough.

It _had_ to be enough.

Hopefully no one would question the lack of bodies.

With no time left to lose, Byleth turned and fled down the stairs, two steps at a time, before pausing by the body of a deceased mage. Being dressed as an Imperial soldier would hardly be a smart decision at all given the circumstances, but...

“You won’t be needing this anymore,” Byleth muttered as she peeled the outer garbs off of the hapless soldier and donned them on herself. She then bundled her hair up and threw on the mage’s floppy, pointed hat, tugging down at the brim of the hat in an attempt to conceal the fringes of her bright green hair.

The robes fitted very loosely over her. And the hat most definitely did not fully hide her hair. 

But they would have to do for now.

From there on, the former commander made a beeline toward one of the palace’s side doors. But as she swung the door open and stepped out, Byleth nearly collided into another person.

_Oh no_.

“Professor-?”

Byleth clamped a hand over Dorothea’s mouth, shushing the bewildered songstress. Dorothea’s eyes flitted over Byleth’s ill-fitting Imperial garments, no doubt questioning why her professor was suspiciously sneaking off in such a poorly chosen disguise.

“I… I’m sorry,” Byleth stammered out, as guilt crept up over her. She was going to be abandoning the Black Eagles… again. But deep in her still heart, the former professor knew that her students would be just fine. Just as they had been for the five years she had been gone following the fall of Garreg Mach. 

For five years, they had all grown and excelled without her. And with the war soon coming to an end, Byleth knew that they would continue to prosper in peacetime regardless of her presence in their lives.

It didn’t stop the thought of leaving them from hurting her, however.

“Please don’t let anyone know,” Byleth begged, gazing pleadingly at her former student. “I can’t stay anymore. I…” She trailed off, unsure of how to explain herself. She dropped her hand from Dorothea’s mouth.

Dorothea nodded slowly in understanding, though her glassy eyes betrayed her sorrow at Byleth’s words. She gave Byleth a tight hug - a goodbye hug.

“Be well, Professor,” Dorothea murmured into Byleth’s ear before releasing her former professor from the hug. “And take good care of Edie, alright?” The songstress gave a brief, wan smile, then moved past Byleth and into the throne room.

Byleth’s brows shot up her forehead. How did Dorothea know about…?

The door slammed shut behind her as Dorothea entered the throne room. 

Byleth’s question would have to go unanswered.

_I promise, Dorothea._

“Oh no! Professor!”

Dorothea’s theatrical voice, so full of grief, could be heard from the other side of the grand palace door as she began to give the performance of a lifetime. It would be one of the most poignant scenes of a dramatic opera that would later be remembered as one of the greatest historical shows of all time.

_I promise to look after Edelgard._

Byleth gave the closed door one last glance.

Then she spun on her heel and ran along the path to the palace garden. 

~❆~

The garden by the palace of Enbarr was truly as lovely as Edelgard had once said it was. The rainy season had only just begun, but already the flowers were in full bloom, having flourished from the agreeable weather.

Perhaps in different circumstances, Edelgard would have been able to personally show Byleth around this very garden just as she had once promised to. Perhaps after the tour, Byleth would have then set up a private tea party for just the two of them, where they would chat and idle the day away. And it being the Garland Moon, perhaps they might have even kept up with the tradition of weaving white rose garlands to gift to one another, giggling as they placed the garlands upon the other’s head. 

Perhaps they might have even celebrated Edelgard’s birthday just the week before… 

But these were not those circumstances, and Byleth violently shook her head to banish such thoughts from her mind as she rounded yet another corner of shrubbery. She quickened her pace toward the designated rendezvous spot.

Hopefully Edelgard had indeed heeded Byleth’s words from before and hadn’t actually gone off to enact some other plan of hers…

At last, the former commander arrived at the center of the garden, stepping up onto the platform of the gazebo. At the other side, a hooded figure stood leaning against a post, their back turned toward Byleth.

“I didn’t think you would actually go along with the plan,” Byleth said as she approached the hooded figure. She took off her hat and threw it carelessly to the side, her mint-colored hair spilling messily over her shoulders.

The figure whirled around, then visibly relaxed at the sight of Byleth. Edelgard drew back her hood, revealing her own silken white hair. She crossed her arms and stepped away from the post as Byleth drew nearer still. 

“Well, what other option did I have? I can’t win this war, and you won’t let me die.”

The sunlight caught in Edelgard’s hair as she turned her head away, and in any other scenario, Byleth might have commented out loud on how she thought the former emperor looked absolutely ravishing. 

But this was not any other scenario.

...And Byleth needed to address Edelgard’s troubling words.

“I didn’t mean to-”

“Mean to what?” Edelgard snapped. “Corner me? Trap me?” The former emperor ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “I don’t suppose you intend to let me go after all this? In which case, it appears I’m now stuck by your side for the rest of my life.”

Byleth frowned. The implication of imprisonment was not lost on her.

“No,” she decided. “You’re free.” She rubbed at her arm, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going in. “But considering the world now thinks that Emperor Edelgard von Hresvelg is… dead…”

“It’d be better for me to stick by you?”

“Yes…”

“What a brilliant plan you came up with, Professor.” The sarcasm was clear in Edelgard’s voice. “I’m ‘free,’ but also, not really.”

“Hey,” Byleth protested. “I’m ‘dead,’ too!” She scrambled for a comeback - anything at all, then sputtered out, “Which means… I’m stuck by _your_ side for the rest of _my_ life, too.”

“How incredibly selfish of you, then. Forcing the two of us together like this for the rest of our lives,” Edelgard said with a huff, though Byleth thought she could detect a trace of amusement in her tone. “Very, very selfish. I never thought that possible of you, but here we are now.”

“I suppose it is,” Byleth conceded after a moment’s pause. “But what’s so wrong about that?”

Edelgard looked inquisitively up at the older woman as Byleth carried on speaking. “Up until today, my whole life has been dictated by everyone else’s wants and needs. Everyone else’s rules, everyone else’s choices. The mercenary company, Rhea, the Church, _you_ -” Byleth’s voice cracked. “So I chose my own path this time. And if that makes me selfish, so be it.”

A flash of surprise crossed Edelgard’s face before a small, genuine smile replaced it. “I… am glad to hear you say that. Perhaps you’re not just an empty shell for the goddess to inhabit after all.”

“You’ve never thought of me as just that, though,” Byleth replied softly. She angled her head close to Edelgard’s as her voice dropped to a near-inaudible whisper. “Or maybe that’s just what I want to believe.”

Edelgard took a step back, startled by the sudden proximity. A muffled yelp left her lips as her back hit one of the gazebo’s surrounding beams. 

Stifling a laugh, Byleth took a step forward, cutting their distance from one another once more. “By the way, I believe I still owe you a kiss.”

“Ah, yes. I do recall you reversing our last kiss,” Edelgard quipped back. “Quite interesting, that.”

Byleth halted in her movements, blinking curiously at the statement. “So, you’re aware of my Divine Pulse. How does that work exactly?” She tilted her head slightly to the side. “Does that mean you re-experience everything but backwards whenever I turn back- mmph!”

Edelgard grabbed Byleth by the collar and yanked her down, crashing their lips together. 

_Edelgard..._

Closing her eyes, Byleth sank into the kiss. And for a moment, the rest of the world fell away as the two women focused only on refamiliarizing themselves with the feel and taste of one another’s lips.

It was a heady and needy kiss full of unspoken feelings and past regrets. Of lost promises and broken dreams and unfulfilled wishes. 

Byleth moved her hands up to cup Edelgard’s cheeks, so as to hold her world between her palms. Edelgard let go of Byleth’s collar to instead tangle her hands in the other woman’s unruly bright green hair.

Eventually, Byleth had to pull back for a breath of air. “Edelgard, I think we should-”

Edelgard didn’t give Byleth a chance to finish her sentence. The former emperor tilted her chin up and bit down hard on Byleth’s bottom lip, drawing blood. A soft moan escaped Byleth as Edelgard then pushed the other woman up against a beam of the gazebo, pinning her in place by the shoulders.

“Byleth,” Edelgard said in between kisses. “We’re not done here.”

_She called me “Byleth” again._

Edelgard’s lips parted as she swiped a tongue voraciously over Byleth's bleeding lip. The sting from the wound made Byleth’s head buzz with pleasure. Byleth’s eyes slipped shut again as she let Edelgard coax her mouth open, to deepen the kiss. 

But they needed to stop.

They were still on Imperial grounds, and Church soldiers were possibly still roaming about, searching for Imperial stragglers.

Byleth drew her head back, then pulled Edelgard into a tight embrace, effectively ceasing their ill-thought-out intimate activity. Edelgard let out a small, displeased whine at Byleth’s sudden action.

“You never answered my question,” Byleth mumbled blearily as she rested her chin on the smaller woman’s shoulder.

Edelgard released a shuddering breath as she lightly played with the disheveled hair on the back of Byleth’s head. “Divine Pulse? Is that what your goddess-granted power is called?”

The spiteful way in which Edelgard said the word “goddess” did not escape Byleth’s notice.

“Yeah.” Byleth frowned. She slackened her arms. Edelgard leaned back to instead hold Byleth’s face in her hands.

“Then, yes. I suppose I do re-experience everything in a way,” Edelgard mused aloud as a thumb wiped away at a thin stream of blood that had begun to trickle down from Byleth’s torn lip. “I don’t _feel_ it, per se, but I am able to somewhat sense when events are being overturned… and I certainly remember all that has already happened once before.”

Edelgard experimentally pressed her thumb down on Byleth’s lip, testing to see if the wound still bled. “Apologies,” she said when Byleth winced at the contact. “I hadn’t meant to bite so hard.”

“ _That’s_ what you’re sorry for?” Byleth said in disbelief as Edelgard’s violet eyes met her own light green ones.

“I won’t apologize for fighting for what I believe in.”

“You still think you’re right,” Byleth stated, mentally taking note of Edelgard’s usage of the present tense. 

She kept her tone even and monotonous. It was an observation, not an accusation.

For a moment, Edelgard did not respond, and Byleth wondered if Edelgard would ever truly give up on her ideals. If Edelgard, even after being presumed dead by the rest of the world, would still try to find a way to bring to light the righteous world for Fódlan of which she dreamed of.

“My teacher,” Edelgard began slowly, drawing Byleth back from her straying thoughts. “I know you probably don’t fully trust me… and I understand that; I wouldn’t either.” The former emperor released Byleth from her hold and took a step back as a determined look formed upon her features. “But I know the quickest way out of here.” 

“Do you? Oh, wait. Former emperor. Of course you do.”

Edelgard raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Enbarr borders a shore along Adrestia’s southern border. We can take a boat from one of Enbarr’s ports and leave Fódlan.” 

Byleth nodded slowly in response as the gears in her head began to turn once more. “We can sail to Albinea, Morfis, or even Almyra,” she replied, allowing a flicker of a smile to appear on her face.

Their story would not end here today.

“Let's go, my teacher.” 

_This is only the beginning._

Edelgard reached a hand out, eyeing her former teacher expectantly.

And this time, Byleth reached back.

\- ❆ -

**Author's Note:**

> Major plot holes and egregious errors? I close my eyes; I do not see. =)
> 
> So, I read about how the developers originally wanted Edelgard to be able to interrupt Byleth’s Divine Pulse, and I thought about how cool it would have been gameplay-wise if you’d chosen to go against Edelgard and she went, “No, you can’t use your reverse time powers now” in the middle of a battle.
> 
> Just to be clear, this isn’t a fix-it; I just asked myself if I would read this (or be able to edit this at least once) if it had a sad, angsty ending, and I said “no,” so here we are.
> 
> In any case, sorry for the rushed ending; I was really struggling with how to end this fic and rewrote this entire thing so many times. I think it still sort of falls flat, but... eh. Hopefully some ppl out there still enjoyed reading this.
> 
> Also, special thanks to Byedletre for beta reading this & for giving me the confidence to post this publicly. (If you haven’t done so already, I highly recommend checking Byedletre’s fics out [here](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Byedletre), btw.)
> 
> Hope you all have a good one! Stay safe, take care, and tysm for checking this out. ♥


End file.
